1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to global-services international telephone numbering plans and, more particularly, to a one-number global-services international telephone numbering plan which routes a specific globally-dialed international telephone number which terminates to a selected customer number, the method including the steps of routing via a geographic country code to an associated originating international gateway provider, receiving a telephone call having a dial string including the geographic country code and at least one additional identifier number signifying a selected service type, inserting a pre-assigned carrier identification number into the dial string, routing the telephone call to the associated international gateway servicing the specific geographic country code, determining if the telephone call includes the geographic country code, the additional identifier number and the pre-assigned carrier identification number and if so, querying a database providing comparison information relating incoming telephone numbers and the pre-assigned carrier identification number to selected numbers provided by customers, comparing the dial string of the telephone call to the selected numbers in the database and determining the correct terminating service provider which the dialed number is intended to connect with, translating the dialed number into an international routing number associated with the correct terminating service provider and customer, collecting proper call accounting information to be shared with both the originating and terminating international gateway providers, and routing the dialed number to a terminating international gateway provider where the telephone call is connected with the correct number whereby the dialer of the telephone call is connected with the telephone service number of the company he/she is trying to connect with regardless of the originating location of the telephone call. Further, the customer receiving the call shall receive information, as a part of their terminating telephone number such that they can determine the carrier and country of origin and the associated cost of accepting this call, if any.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is a fact that the economy of the world continues to become a global one, with country boundaries becoming less and less important than the ability to reach and service customers. The ability to provide a single number globally which could be used to access services from anywhere in the world and billed in a variety of ways is well recognized. For example, for a company such as Microsoft, which has customers all over the world, to provide world-wide customer service is a constant challenge due to the vast number of international and national telephone carriers. The problems of providing such world-wide customer service will only worsen as the world continues to develop the interconnected global economy, hastened by such developments as the Internet, trans-oceanic fibre optic cables and satellite communications. There is therefore a need for a world-wide system of connecting customers to vendors through an easily used dialing method, wherein the customer can contact the vendor regardless of their relative locations.
The majority of international and domestic companies use toll-free numbers, premium rate numbers, or shared-cost numbers (numbers that bill a known xe2x80x9clocal ratexe2x80x9d but the long-distance portion is borne by the company, as in cellular phones) to allow their customers or vendors to contact them either without the customer having to pay for the contact, or the customer paying a set known amount that may or may not be shared by the company. The domestic companies have a distinct advantage over the international companies as toll-free, premium rate and shared-cost numbers within a country""s boundaries are relatively easily implemented. As more and more companies turn to the international market to increase sales, however, there is a need for a one-number global services international numbering plan which allows a caller to dial a single number wherever they are to contact the international company at a known rate, be that free and at the international company""s cost, shared between the caller and the international company, but known in advance by the caller, or at a premium rate, in exchange for some value-added information or service which is paid for through the existing telephony billing system.
There have been various attempts to provide toll-free international communications systems, such as those found in Chanda, U.S. Pat. No. 5,550,909 and Abdelaal, U.S. Pat. No. 6,052,457. However, each of these systems in the prior art have inherent disadvantages, such as permitting only limited identification of the caller""s location and only handling the passing of UIFN call between U.S. carriers when local exchange carriers do not know where to send the call. There is therefore a need for an easily implemented, easily used international toll-free number system which can be used generally anywhere in the world.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a one-number global services international numbering system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a one-number global services international numbering system which is easily implemented and easily used regardless of the location of the user of the system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a one-number global services international numbering system which will allow a caller to contact an international company via its one-number global services number without requiring the dialing of country-specific or location-specific information.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a one-number global services international numbering plan which will allow a caller to contact an international company via its premium-rate number without requiring the dialing of country-specific or location-specific information, and for billing to occur through the callers existing telephone services provider.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a one-number global services international numbering plan which will allow a caller to contact an international company via its shared-cost number without requiring the dialing of country-specific or location-specific information at a local call rate or similar, pre-subscribed or pre-established rate.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a one-number global services international numbering system which will utilize underutilized geographic country codes for providing global phone numbers, while also benefitting those countries having underdeveloped telephone systems.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a one-number global services international numbering system which will provide origination information regarding the caller in order to inform the terminating service provider of the general geographic location of the caller for service-providing services and for proper rating and billing information to be collected and shared among the various carriers and service providers involved in the call establishment and routing.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a one-number global services international numbering plan which will provide billing and settlement information in order for the originating and terminating international gateway service providers to be properly reimbursed for their respective networks utilization and for the customer to be properly billed, in the case of toll free services; or the caller to be properly billed in the case of premium rate services or; both properly billed in the case of shared-cost services, for their respective telephone calls.
Finally, an object of the present invention is to provide a one-number global services international numbering system which is relatively simple to implement and use and is efficient and valuable for use by international companies.
The present invention provides a method of routing a globally-dialed international telephone number to a selected customer number, the method including the steps of utilizing a geographic country code which will route to the associated originating country""s international gateway provider which will receive the telephone call having a dial string including the geographic country code and at least one additional identifier number signifying a selected service type requested by the caller, and having originated from at least one of a local exchange network, a payphone service provider, a mobile provider network or other similar access provider, who inserted their pre-assigned carrier identification number into the dial string. If the dial string contains the foregoing, the telephone call is directed to an international gateway servicing this geographic country code, which includes a database providing comparison information relating incoming telephone numbers to selected international routing numbers provided by the terminating service provider involved. The incoming digit string is then used to retrieve specific data from the database in order to identify the correct originating local exchange network and associated international routing number which denotes, among other things, the geographic location and the originating service provider of the caller and the proper signaling protocols required for the telephone call to be correctly translated and connected to the associated terminating service provider and end customer. The telephone call is then routed to the international gateway of the terminating service provider and the telephone call is connected with the correct number whereby the dialer of the telephone call is connected with the telephone service number of the company he/she is trying to connect with regardless of the originating location of the telephone call.
It is clear that the features of this invention combine to form an easily implemented and used and extremely useful and efficient one-number global services international numbering plan. For example, no matter where in the world a customer or user is, he or she can dial a single number and be connected with the customer service line of the international company, (or selected other service) they are trying to contact and have the call properly billed in a manner agreeable to the terminating service provider and the customer/holder of the number. Furthermore, in the case of toll-free access, because the present invention permits the company to pay for the cost of the incoming call regardless of the origination location, customers worldwide are able to access the resources of the company, thus creating much good will for the company and expanding its marketplace. Finally, because the system of the present invention does not route the designated calls through the underdeveloped telephone system interchange, the present invention can be used with many country""s telephone system interchanges without taxing the existing system while simultaneously improving the country""s income. It is thus seen that the present invention provides a substantial improvement over the prior art.